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QueensThe first settlements were made by the Dutch in 1635. Queens co. was organized in 1683, the main settlements were Flushing, Jamaica, and Newtown (later Elmhurst). Several buildings of the 17th and 18th cent. remain. One of the first commercial nurseries in the country was established c.1737, and the community's collection of trees still includes several rare species. In the American Revolution, British troops held the area after the battle of Long Island (1776). The western portions of Queens co. voted to join New York City in 1898; the eastern section became Nassau co. In the 20th cent. growth was spurred with the opening of the Queensboro Bridge (1909) and a railroad tunnel (1910). After World War II there was a boom in housing construction.
Queens is the most ethnically diverse county in the United States, with large populations of immigrants, primarily E and S Asians and Hispanics. It is the site of La Guardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. Two World's Fairs (1939–40; 1964–65) were held in Flushing Meadow Park. Also in the borough are the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center; Aqueduct racetrack; Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets (baseball); and the United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open. Parts of Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula (including former U.S. Fort Tilden) are included in the Gateway National Recreation Area.
See V. F. Seyfried, Old Queens, New York (1990).
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